Dorado SS Memorial

The Dorado SS (248) memorial marker is located at the Veterans Memorial Park in Wichita, Kansas. This memorial was dedicated in October 1996 to honor the submariners of Dorado SS (248) who were lost during World War II. US Submarine Veterans of World War II, Kansas Chapter, erected this memorial monument. On the front of the monument, you will find a complete crew list and the words “In Honor of One of 52 Submarines on Eternal Patrol” located at the base of the monument. Although submarines only represented 2% of the US Naval Forces, they destroyed 50% of Japanese shipping and more than 30% of their warships.

Lieutenant
Commander Earle Caffrey Schneider was scheduled to sail the newly commissioned
submarine Dorado from New London, Connecticut to Panama on October 6, 1943. After
all the trials and testing were finished USS Dorado left Connecticut and headed
for the Panama Canal where she was expected to arrive October 14, 1943. When the submarine missed her arrival date,
the air searches began but they only found scattered oil slicks and
debris.

The USS
Dorado (SS 248) is believed to have been destroyed by a US Navy PBM-3 flying
boat based at Guantanamo Bay on October 12, 1943. While patrolling the area the aircraft
dropped three depth charges and a bomb on what seemed to by a surface U-boat. The aircraft circled around to observe the
results of the attack but could not see anything except white water and
bubbles. On October 24, 1943, the Navy announced
the loss of USS Dorado (SS 248).

The Veterans
Memorial Park is located on the east bank of the Arkansas River and is open to
the public 24 hours every day. While
visiting the park be sure to take the winding peaceful path to see all of the
Memorials and reflect on the history behind each of them.